Using Our Draft Kit to Win Your CBS Sports Fantasy Football League

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If your league mates tend to follow the default rankings, you can gain an advantage over them on occasion. That could make a big-name player a surprising value in CBS leagues.

I've already discussed some general trends and players to avoid and to target in your Yahoo! drafts and in your ESPN drafts, so now it's time to look at the third big name in fantasy football: CBS Sports.

I want to reiterate that I'm not necessarily criticizing any site's rankings or perceptions on single players, but rather pointing out that when one site gets to suggest the value of a player, you can understand the asking price better if you have a second or third opinion. And thinking differently is a key to success in the cerebral endeavor of fantasy football.

I also want to reiterate that you don't necessarily need to agree with certain player evaluations that our algorithms make. I posit, though, that it's nonetheless helpful to cognize the general perceptions of each position in your league's default rankings. This can help create value for players who might be overvalued elsewhere.

Fundamental Differences

1. The CBS Sports ranks suggest tight ends much earlier than ours do. This, like I mentioned in previous articles, is a common theme. Per our math, the value of top tight ends over replacement-level tight ends isn't great enough to warrant investing early- or mid-round picks on them. They're safer than running backs and less injury prone, but if you want to maximize your potential value, you shouldn't draft tight ends where CBS suggests.

2. CBS likes rookies and high-upside young talent, but our rankings are less enthusiastic about youth. CBS Sports ranks three players inside their top 100, and 11 guys inside their top 140 that don't even crack our top 200. You'll see who they are below.

3. Despite offering 6 points for passing touchdowns, CBS overvalues, per our projections, just 3 of our top 17 quarterbacks. I love waiting on quarterback as much as the next guy, but six points per touchdown can add up if you have a truly elite touchdown-tallying quarterback. However, CBS Sports' rankings are so low on quarterbacks that some guys can be had at extreme discounts - even two of the top three fantasy quarterbacks.

4. Our rankings and CBS Sports' rankings disagree about many wide receivers. Our rankings suggest that 10 wide receivers are overvalued by at least 12 picks (a full round) and that 19 are undervalued by at least 12 picks.

Overvalued CBS Sports Players According to Our Projections

I don't want to get too in-depth about the tight ends because I've done it for the Yahoo rankings and ESPN rankings. However, Jordan Cameron is the only top-11 CBS Sports tight end whose CBS Sports rank is within 24 spots of our rank. This means that the other 10 are suggested at least two rounds earlier than we think they should go. Cameron is ranked 75th on CBS Sports and 96th on numberFire, a difference of 21 spots. However, 7 of the other 10 are suggested to be drafted 40 or more spots ahead of where we would suggest.

CBS Sports also suggests some young, high-upside types of players who are either vying for a starting role in good offenses like San Diego and New Orleans or who are behind the depth chart of some fragile and aging players. There are a few players who CBS Sports ranks inside their top 140 that we have outside our top 200. Here's that list.

Player

CBS Sports Rank

Player

CBS Sports Rank

Devonta Freeman

95

Khiry Robinson

114

Brandin Cooks

98

Jeremy Hill

123

Eric Ebron

99

Stepfan Taylor

126

Heath Miller

106

Justin Hunter

134

Christine Michael

111

Jarrett Boykin

137

Ladarius Green

112

It's actually difficult not to get caught up in the hype for some of these players because their upside either from ability or opportunity is mostly obvious, but realistically, expecting consistent fantasy production for each of these guys isn't very likely. A ninth-round pick might be too steep a price for these lottery tickets.

Overall, CBS Sports doesn't really suggest too many players too early, so most of the intrigue is found in the guys of whom CBS Sports is less supportive.

Undervalued CBS Sports Players According to Our Projections

CBS Sports will be suggesting that you go for youth instead of the aging talent pool at wide receiver, but reliability can be a good thing. I mentioned before that there were 19 receivers with CBS ranks at least 12 spots lower than our ranks, and 14 of those players are inside our top 100 overall. It's a long list, but here it is.

Player

CBS Sports Rank

numberFire Rank

Differential

Wes Welker

58

38

+20

Victor Cruz

59

44

+15

DeSean Jackson

63

40

+23

Julian Edelman

74

53

+21

Jeremy Maclin

77

65

+12

Kendall Wright

82

62

+20

Marques Colston

84

64

+20

Eric Decker

90

74

+16

Reggie Wayne

102

69

+33

Dwayne Bowe

121

85

+36

Anquan Boldin

146

92

+54

Brian Hartline

150

93

+57

Danny Amendola

162

99

+63

Steve Smith

170

88

+82

Now, of course, if your league mates don't adhere strictly enough to the default rankings, then the value in these players diminishes, but it's likely that a few of them will fall to you at some point in the draft. The power of suggestion of seeing, say, a 84 overall rank for Marques Colston might scare people off of him, but that could work in your advantage if he ends up closer to our ranks than to theirs.

Another place you can find value is at quarterback. While it's unlikely everyone in your league will wait as long as CBS Sports suggests to grab a fantasy signal caller, there are tons of quarterback talent that you can get very late, per CBS Sports' suggestions. Here are the eight biggest values in our top 16 quarterbacks on CBSSports.com.

Player

CBS Sports Rank

numberFire Rank

Differential

Tom Brady

68

43

+25

Andrew Luck

88

47

+41

Robert Griffin III

101

77

+24

Jay Cutler

124

72

+52

Cam Newton

127

50

+77

Ben Roethlisberger

128

82

+46

Philip Rivers

148

45

+103

Russell Wilson

163

60

+103

Having an elite quarterback doesn't necessarily give you an elite edge, but there are plenty of options late in your draft who will likely be viable starting options, so you don't need to invest an early pick on one. However, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Drew Brees ranks sixth overall in our system when set to CBS Sports' standard scoring, Peyton Manning ranks 10th, and Aaron Rodgers ranks 13th. While Manning is pegged as the sixth option in CBS Sports' draft room, Brees is just 21st, and Rodgers is 23rd, making them surprising values if they can reach our projected ranking for them.

There are, of course, many winning strategies in fantasy football, and the draft is just the starting point. But being able to wait on players and knowing to avoid some guys with a steep asking price can set you up for a great season, one that leads to the fantasy championship.